Growing in Grace

Paul wrote in Philippians 4:11-13, "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." I was recently reminded of these verses as my husband and I have begun Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University course. We are having to make some hard decisions on how to budget and spend our money. When you begin to determine your priorities for the present and the future, it sometimes means saying "no" to something now in order to say "yes" to something later.  All of this has meant letting go of some things we were really looking forward to doing around our home. Contentment is not a new concept to me. The Lord has been teaching me about this for most of our 25 year marriage. The continued lesso...

But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" - Luke 10:40 In today's Scripture, we read, "Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made." Martha was on the right path, even with her "much serving," as the King James Version puts it. Martha dearly loved the Lord Jesus, and she isn't to be chided for rolling up her sleeves to prepare a special meal for Him and His disciples. The problem was her focus. It wasn't that she was too busy or planned too many menu items. Martha simply allowed those things to distract her from the true focus - the Savior. She lost joy in her labor, gladness in ministering to her Lord, and delight in exercising her God-given gifts. A complaining spirit took over as she focused on her sister, Mary, along with all the pots and pans! It takes gr...

Sing and make music to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. -Ephesians 5:19b-20 Today's Scripture raises big - and honest - questions. Paul tells us we must be "always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." For everything? How I have wrestled with those words! The Bible says we're to give thanks, not only for the good stuff and the happy moments, but also for those hurtful, crushing, heartbreaking, out-of-control moments as well. He asks us to see life from His point of view. Paul's command begins with giving thanks to the Father and ends with the name of Jesus. All the events of our lives are bookended by the Father and the Son. Everything that touches us comes from His hand. He sees how it will all fit together. He sees right now how you will one day be healed and how the tears, bruises, setbacks, and sorrows of this life have worked for the ...

Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. -John 17:24 All of us will lose loved ones during this life. As much as we wish it were otherwise, it just comes with the territory on this broken planet. Yes, sometimes God chooses to answer our prayers for healing and grants a reprieve. At other times, we're left wondering why it didn't happen for us. A man who recently lost his wife to breast cancer took comfort that, while his prayer for healing wasn't granted, another prayer was answered. In today's Scripture, Jesus prays, "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory." It's the heartfelt prayer of God's Son for all those who love Him. So the length of time we live on earth or whether or not we get healed isn't really the point, is it? The point is, we're all headed for heaven - th...

You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. -Romans 8:9 Photo Credit Sometimes we think about Christians serving the Lord in difficult and dangerous places - doing extraordinary exploits for Him and bringing Him glory. Then we say to ourselves, "Yes, but what am I doing? How can I bring God glory in my everyday routine?" My friend, there actually is a way to do that. Consider this: There is a wide gap between what you would normally and instinctively do, and what you do when you are walking in His strength and Spirit. In your natural self, you might complain about your routine or difficulties. In God's strength, however, you bite your tongue and refuse to grumble, because you recognize God in those very situations. The gap between those two responses is the glory of God! And our Savior takes note, marki...

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. -Ephesians 1:3 Photo Credit When a particular trouble intrudes into our life, it has a way of taking over. It dominates our thoughts, controls our emotions, saps our will, and drains our energy. Eventually, it crowds and bullies every good thing out of our day. As God's children, we can't let that happen. Today's Scripture tells us God has blessed us in the heavenly realms. He's given us peace of heart and mind - something the world craves but can't find. He's given us faith to pass through deep waters. He's given us the grace to give and to let go. He's given us the sweet knowledge that we have an eternal home in heaven, waiting for us just around the bend. He's given us His own Spirit as Counselor and Comforter. He's washed away our sins and forgotten our evil deeds. We have more going for us than ...

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” -John 3:16 John 19:16-20:22 tells us about how  Jesus willingly died on the cross for our sins. He rose again after three days, appeared to the disciples and commissioned them to be witnesses.  Jesus’ love has the power to save us from our sins Once Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified, the soldiers took charge of Him. He was taken to the place of the Skull known as Golgotha. Here He was crucified between two others. Jesus being crucified with two others fulfilled Isaiah 53:12 which said He would be numbered with the transgressors. [1] This type of punishment was set aside for the lowest of criminals. It was a symbol of “the basest kind of rejection, shame, and suffering.” [2] “Jesus was made. . . sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21) and the wrath of God we deserved was poured out on Him. This is a type and degree of suffe...

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. -Philippians 4:13 In John 11:1-45 we read about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Just as Jesus  did this to strengthen the faith of His disciples as well as Mary and Martha, so Jesus' love can strengthen our faith as well. Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha was sick. Mary was the woman who had poured perfume on the Lord and wiped His feet with her hair. They were from Bethany. The sisters sent word to Jesus that the one He loved was sick. When Jesus heard the news, He said that Lazarus’ sickness would not end in death; but would be for God’s glory and so the Son of Man could be glorified through it. Lazarus likely died shortly after the messengers left Bethany. Jesus already knew of Lazarus’ death so He was predicting the raising of Lazarus. Jesus would be glorified through the raising of Lazarus because the miracle would display God’s glory in Jesus and because it would initiate events that would lead to...

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” -Luke 19:10 Jesus' encounter with Zaccaeus reveals that  Jesus’ love has the power to transform. In  Luke 19:1-10 we read that  Jesus sought out Zacchaeus and that He became a follower of Christ. As Jesus was passing through Jericho, a man named Zacchaeus was there. Ironically, the name Zacchaeus means “righteous one.”  Zacchaeus, however, was not living up to his name. [1] He was a chief tax collector and very wealthy. Taxes were collected by the Roman government by Jewish agents known as tax collectors. These men were detested for helping the pagan leader and for often cheating their own people. [2] They were included in the group called “sinners” who were considered evil for not following the Mosaic Law as interpreted by the teachers of the law. [3] The position of chief tax collector was only referred to here in this passage. The job probably consisted of overseeing a district, w...

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.   -Philippians 4:19 In the Gospels, we read of the feeding of the 5,000  (Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:35-44; Luke 9:12-17; John 6:4-13) . This passage shows us that Jesus’ love has the power to meet our needs.  Jesus trusted the Father and was able to meet the need of the multitude. After John the Baptist was beheaded, Jesus had sent out the twelve disciples to minister on their own. When they returned, Jesus withdrew by boat to Bethsaida, which was on the northeast shore of the Sea of Galilee. [1] Here Jesus thought they would be alone. People from the surrounding towns heard of His travel, however, and followed Jesus on foot. Perhaps because a strong headwind had slowed them down, [2] by the time Jesus landed, a large crowd had gathered to meet Him. Jesus had compassion on them because He saw them as sheep without a shepherd. [3] Jesus began teaching them about the k...